Page 66 of Worse Than Murder
‘An expensive eye.’
I look at Philip and see the hint of happiness on his face. ‘What’s your heart saying?’
‘It’s telling me to do it. I mean, imagine standing in the basement with a glass of Chateau Haut-Brion in one hand, a snack of some kind in the other, and looking out as the sun sets over the calm lake. Doesn’t that sound like perfection to you?’ He looks at me, his eyes wide with excitement.
‘What’s the snack?’
‘Whatever you want.’
‘A packet of pickled onion Monster Munch.’
‘Now you’re talking,’ he laughs.
‘Do you know something, Philip, fuck the cost, do it. I’ll give you half. We’ll do this together.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Absolutely. I’ve got money in the bank I’m not doing anything with. I’ve nobody to leave it to, so why not invest it in something I know will be a huge success. Put the window in. Build the terrace.’
He steps forward, gives me a hug and kisses me on the cheek. It doesn’t feel weird, either. ‘You know something, you should seriously consider moving out here.’
‘You just want someone to peel the carrots you don’t have to pay, don’t you?’
‘It would certainly increase the profit margin.’
I slap him playfully on the arm. We head to the main entrance of the restaurant.
‘So, what’s the next step?’ I ask.
‘Well, I’ve already been on to a builder in the village when I was thinking of simply converting the basement into a cellar. I called him again earlier. He’s really busy at the moment, for obvious reasons, but he’s going to pop round later in the week.’
‘You’ll miss the summer season.’
‘True, but I can have a few run-throughs over the winter with the locals, test things out. I mean, even in the depths of winter that view is stunning.’
We reach the steps to the restaurant and see Sally struggling to open the door with a tray of takeaway hot drinks. Philip rushes up and holds the door open for her.
‘Where are you going with those?’
‘The search team have arrived to pull the car up from the bottom of the lake. I said I’d take them down some drinks.’
‘Need a hand?’ I ask.
‘Yes please. This tray is overloaded.’
We head back into the restaurant, divide the drinks between two trays and set off together through the trees and to the lake.
‘You were up and out early this morning,’ Sally says as we walk extremely carefully so as not to drop any of the drinks.
‘I thought I’d pop into the village, see if there was much damage from the storm.’
‘Is there?’
‘Yes. A lot of shops have been flooded out.’
‘I might pop down later and see if I can help out. It’s always good to get in with the locals.’
We turn a corner and see a row of navy-blue vans with bright yellow writing all over them: Specialised Rescue UK. The SRUK logo is everywhere. Next to the vehicles, members of the team are getting geared up to enter the water.
